Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Issues Earnings Results

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 26.71%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 12.8 %

SFM traded up $8.21 during trading on Thursday, reaching $72.50. 2,666,499 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,338,835. Sprouts Farmers Market has a one year low of $32.12 and a one year high of $74.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total transaction of $1,978,591.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,125,414.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total transaction of $1,978,591.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares in the company, valued at $5,125,414.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 3,774 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $234,969.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,170.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 160,852 shares of company stock valued at $10,032,745 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SFM. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retailing of fresh, natural, and organic food products under the Sprouts brand in the United States. It offers perishable product categories, including fresh produce, meat and meat alternatives, seafood, deli, bakery, floral, and dairy and dairy alternatives; and non-perishable product categories, such as grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care.